Today’s teens are busier than ever. For many, the relentless demands of school, activities, athletics, friends and family, along with the added pressures associated with college planning and social media, lead to a full-time balancing act and a life with little room for downtime.

Downtime ­— that space when one can breathe both mentally and physically — is critical for teens during these developmental and often overscheduled years.

“Every teen needs downtime, and they aren’t getting enough,” says Katherine Williamson, M.D., FAAP. As a pediatrician with CHOC Children’s Hospital, Williamson works with many local teens and their families to help combat the busyness that seems to reign supreme during the adolescent years.

But why is the act of “doing nothing” so crucial for teens?

“Whether these kids are three-sport athletes or kids who spend all of their time online, not leaving any room for their mind and body to slow down has serious effects on both their mental and physical state,” says Williamson.

She points to statistics on adolescent sleep, a critical part of downtime that is one of the first things to get sacrificed in the life of a busy teen. A poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation found that approximately 60 percent of middle school students and 90 percent of high school students get less than the recommended nine to 10 hours of sleep a night.

Williamson cautions that constant sleep deprivation can lead to bigger issues, such as depression, poor academic performance, obesity and increased risk of car accidents. Aside from managing the amount of activities teens participate in, what is a constructive way to carve out time for the mind and body to breathe on a daily basis?

“Unplug,” says Williamson. “Teens need to unplug themselves for a set amount of time every day, a full electronic shutdown.”

Pulling teens, and even their parents, away from laptops, tablets and smartphones may be easier said than done, especially when these tools are critical to productivity. But Williamson suggests that it’s less about the quantity of time away from the screen and more about the quality of how that time is spent.

“Put dinner on hold for 10-15 minutes and do a group activity, such as going for a walk,” says Williamson. “Taking 10 minutes for a walk outside may not seem like a lot, but slowing down for those few minutes often can feel like an hour of rest, without much time lost.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests families create a Personalized Family Media Use Plan (healthychildren.org), a tool to approach media use in the home in a thoughtful, constructive way that maximizes appropriate use without sacrificing important things such as downtime, sleep, face-to-face interaction and family time.

And there might not be a better way to help motivate teens to set aside their screens than if they see their parents doing the same.

“Parents should model downtime for their teens, especially when it comes to electronics use,” says Williamson. “If teens feel like they are on equal footing with their parents on this issue, it becomes easier to implement.”

These efforts can in turn create more opportunities for connection between parents and their teens during a time when teens need a way to release daily stresses. When teens are overwhelmed, Williamson too often sees them turn to more screen time, such as binge-watching YouTube videos, when a non-media solution would be more helpful.

“So much of what teens are processing is suppressed throughout the day, with no way for it to be released,” says Williamson. “I’m always in favor of movement —getting up and about, talking with parents — over the screen.”

Ultimately, being mindful of teens’ need for downtime and being intentional about implementing it into their busy schedules can go a long way toward fostering creativity, reducing stress and living out a more balanced life.

“It’s in those quiet times that they can actually hear themselves think,” says Williamson. “These are life skills. Teens need to know it’s OK to be quiet, because that’s when their voices are often the loudest.”

Jenelyn Russo lives in North Tustin with her husband and two daughters.